Daughter of God

Needs an editor

Story-wise, I'd give this 4 stars, but the editing was so atrocious in the NOOK-Book edition that I actually thought it warranted deducting a star. The typos and lack of periods at the ends of sentences were a distraction, and occurred many times on every page. Also, this is the only NOOK-Book I have purchased that wouldn't allow me to change the font size. I thought my NOOK was broken, but I went back to some previous books and the fonts changed easily. Sorely needs an editing and a font-fix!! The story falls into the Dan Brown Da Vinci Code genre, but not quite in Mr. Brown's league. Very thought provoking, and a nice history lesson here and there. Organized religion takes a few on the chin, as well it should, and the author takes a stab at politics, too. Interesting interpretation of what would happen to civilization if its religious beliefs are proven to be in error. I would recommend the book, and I will be looking for another book by the same author someday soon. If the next book of his has the same editing errors, though, I won't return.

Is putdownable

The plot of this novel really is intriguing to suggest that god sent more than one messiah to earth is a huge accusation, and to charge that we kill them all is another. What does that say for our love for god the fact that well kill the devine ones that he sends to us. Seth and Zoe characters fit well into this novel, though at times Seth charactor seems to have the ability of Clark Kent. The most interesting person is Father Morgen, i loved this character. The Daughter of God overall is a oooooooookay novel though at times i found my mind wandering aimlessly as i read. Its really picks up and ends with a pretty good twist, but at times the book is putdownable.

A Great Read!

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It keeps your interest all the way through. It is controversial which helps to make it interesting. While other books have similar topics, this book stands alone. It is a treasured book in my collection. Try it!

Alternative Theory

This book is an excellent read for a struggling Christian although the book is controversial it has very important points that all religious folks should remember and sometimes forget! This book reminds you of them all! It's hard to put down and just because the title sounds controversial doesn't mean it's a bad book! Try it!

Kept me up all night

This book would not let go of me. I started it last night and I just had to finish it. I've got a serious case of sleep deprivation today because of that, but it's a worthy fatigue. As a historian and freelance book editor here in the Chicago area, my threshold is remarkably high, but Daughter of God went over the bar with room to spare. There are really two books here, a well-fleshed-out, non-fiction book about women and religion and a thriller where the action just didn't stop. The historian in me loved the history, especially the well-reasoned rationale Perdue makes for why the Goddess was replaced by Big Daddy in the sky. He ties it in with the rise of agriculture, the demise of the hunter-gatherer culture and the availability of excess food. I've never seen his hypothesis before, but find it well-founded on fact. I'd encourage him to develop it as a paper to be submitted to a scholarly journal. The escapist in me loved the action and the very different and creative methods employed. Finally, the editor in me loved the characters, how they came alive, lived, struggled with both internal and external elements and changed as life pressed upon them.

Intriguing plot, exquisite writing

This book is one of the best written and plotted thrillers I have read in more than a decade. It is certainly evocative of The Da Vinci Code, but gives us far more history on the church and the goddess in history than Code. Those who review books for a living (Kirkus, Book List and so forth) have given this their hightest ratings and as an amateur I agree with them.

Just awful!

The only good thing about this book is that I paid 75 cents for it at my local Salvation Army thrift store. Where do I begin to describe the sheer magnitude of this novel's problems? With the cookie-cutter characters? Let's see, there's the retired lawman who gets to dust off his skills when Something Bad happens to his wife. His wife, of course, is beautiful. But wait! She's also really smart. So she's an intelligent damsel in distress. Then there is the requisite laundry list of bad guys, including the evil masterminds, their sniveling yes-men, the giant musclebound leg-breakers, and the dirty double-crossers. Characters aren't the only problems with this novel. If you can get past them, then the author's terrible writing will make you screech to a halt. Lewis Perdue would've been a huge success back in the days when Honore de Balzac was cranking out his epics in France. (Balzac got paid by the word!) Perdue throws every last annoying and irrelevant detail into his rambling narrative. For example, early on in the book, when one of the main characters takes a shower, Perdue describes everything from the guy taking off his clothes and stepping into the shower to lathering up, rinsing off, stepping out of the shower, drying his body with a towel, and finger-styling his wet hair! Does this level of minutae add anything? A simple 'he had a shower' would've sufficed. Perdue's editor could've deleted all of this kind of information overload without detracting from the plot. Shame on him (or her) for letting all that dross make it into the final draft! Also particularly annoying were the frequent, extensive, and intrusive rants passed off as dialogue. During these episodes, the various characters wax eloquent and poetical about their respective fields of expertise. Instead of coming off as informative, these brain-dumps had a know-it-all effect a la Michael Crichton. Last, but by no means the least, the plot was problematic. It was just one unrealistic event after another. How many times can the protagonists escape at the last minute, suddenly summon superhuman energy, defy death, and come up with some extremely complex solution off the tops of their heads? I'm all for the willing suspension of disbelief, provided the author gives me some thread of plausibility to hang onto. But Perdue had me exasperated well before I reached the end of the book. In short, I think Daughter of God was a really interesting idea that was poorly executed. If you want to read some truly brilliant religious historical fiction, try Pope Joan and The Red Tent.

Interesting story, poor writing

While the basic story was interesting, the character development was poor. The interaction between the two main characters is juvenile and distracts from the flow of the book.

One of the worst books I've ever read

I bought this book because of the controversy around it and Dan Brown's 'The DaVinci Code.' There are certainly many similarities between the stories (although they revolve around two completely different historical figures). The premise is interesting. However, Perdue's writing is nothing short of awful! How many times can you write 'the man with the insane eyes' on a single page? I counted at least four. And how often can the main character strain to keep his knees from buckling? Halfway through the book, which is where I finally gave up, I'd counted at least three. In one passage where Seth is being shot at, the word 'slug' (as in 'bullet') is used six times! There was even a grammatical error in the dedication. I can forgive a typo or two (although for what you pay for a hardbound book these days, you'd think the writers/editors would at least make use of current technology and run a simple spell/grammar check), but this was truly horrible.

EXCITING, INFORMATIVE, AND FIRST-RATE!

There are a lot of interesting and intelligent theories posed in this latest thriller by Lewis Perdue...and all of them revolve around the premise that Christianity is hiding something. Hiding something so monstrous to their carefully constructed doctrines of faith, that knowledge of it may very easily destroy the world as we know it. Unfortunately, Zoe and Seth Ridgeway have stumbled upon that knowledge, and have been charged with the onerous task of finding out the Truth. Zoe, an antiquities art dealer, and Seth, a former policeman-turned-professor, find that learning the truth can be dangerous and very deadly. Too bad for them. What if there were proof that Christ was not the only Messiah to have lived and died for mankinds sins? And what if this 'second Messiah' turned out to be a woman, and discovery of this information is what sets every government and religious group into a turmoil so fervently that any of them would kill to own this secret, or destroy it? That's the premise that Perdue sets forth in 'Daughter of God', an exciting, informative, and first-rate thriller. Perdue's postulations are well thought out, and his story is executed in a style that keeps the action flowing while still creating believable characters, right down to the last detail. While I haven't read any of Perdue's previous works, after reading 'Daughter of God', I will make it a point to seek them all out and devour them as quickly as I did this!

Exciting thriller

Christianity strictly believes that Christ is the Son of God. The Vatican has ruthlessly suppressed that they are convinced another Messiah Sophia lived in Ancient Times. In 310 AD, the men of King Constantine murdered her for fear that her life would destroy the power of the Roman Empire and the Holy Church.

In the present era, a dying Nazi asks art dealer Zoe Ridgeway to return the stolen collection he took during the war to its rightful owners. He also wants her spouse Seth to translate the story of Sophia into English. However, before they can begin, assailants steal the artwork, kill its ¿owner¿, and kidnap Zoe. The record of Sophia vanishes. The Russian Mafia holds her prisoner in the hopes of negotiating a deal that will bring needed currency to their country. Certain Vatican officials want Sophia¿s Passion (the gold box that contains an account of her life). Seth wants Zoe safely returned to him, but realizes that he and his spouse know too much about Sophia for the Vatican to allow them to live.

DAUGHTER OF GOD is an action-packed thriller that ties together an art theft, a conspiracy that has existed for over a millennium, and a religious philosopher. Although the action never slows down, the characters drive the plot to its triumphant conclusion. Readers will care about Zoe and Seth while appreciating and understanding the motives of the antagonists (Russian and Vatican). This makes for a realistic feel to the rich story line. Fans know that Lewis Perdue soars with the best writers of the new millennium and will demand a prequel that stars the female Messiah.

Harriet Klausner

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